One of Sener’s innovations in this field was the development of new simulation software, called Sensol, that takes into account all the variables that go into building a solar plant, determining the production costs and the appropriate dimensions.

This technology has also been used outside the country; the Japanese Institute of Technology purchased Sener’s services to determine the best dimensions for a solar plant it wanted to develop. Andasol is Sener’s first solar thermal site, though the company has already broken ground on another site nearby, and a third is being planned for a location in the northern part of country.

The company has faced hurdles in building this facility, the first major parabolic -trough system in Spain. “There have been a lot of challenges,” says Nora Castañeda, an engineer in charge of the site’s construction, laughing. “We can begin with the design itself. It was difficult to find the right manufacturers, because there are so few suppliers of the parts. We had to learn how to assemble a solar field like this in a short time. Once we solved one problem, another appeared.” But as quickly as problems have appeared, she says, the staff worked hard to find solutions. They built an assembly plant on-site and worked with Spanish construction companies to create appropriate jigs with laser trackers for the extremely precise task of building the parabolic mirrors and transporting the system to the field without disruption.

Castañeda says she expects the lessons learned from Andasol 1 to help drive down the cost of future systems. Other companies are part of this rising trend: the Spanish utility giant Iberdrola recently announced plans for 10 parabolic - trough systems across the country.

Advancing the Field

Eduardo Zarza is having a great day. In fact, he’s having a great year. With a barely suppressed grin, PSA’s director of concentrating solar research describes how the center has gone from a research outpost, where he and other researchers toiled away on solar thermal power for 25 years, to an international superstar (at least in certain circles), with near daily visits from companies and scientists from around the world. Says Zarza, “Every week we have several companies coming to see the facilities to get information, because they’re interested in investing in solar thermal plants. The situation has changed dramatically in only two years.”